Alendronate, 4-amino-1-hydroxybutylidene- 1,1-bisphosphonic acid, and its pharmaceutically acceptable salts are known to be useful in the treatment of osteoporosis. See, for example U.S. Patent 4,621,077. It has also been used experimentally to treat alveolar bone loss associated with periodontitis and periodontal disease, as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,365.
Alveolar bone of the mandible and maxilla serves as the primary foundation for tooth support. While alveolar bone is generally subject to metabolic and other systemic diseases of the skeleton, there has been relatively little work on the occurrence, progression, or impact of systemic osteoporosis on alveolar bone, although such a relationship may exist. Mandibular bone loss has been correlated with systemic bone loss, and it has been reported that tooth loss is exacerbated by osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis of the jaw may have a relationship to tooth loss. Alveolar maxillary bone and mandibular bone may be highly susceptible to osteoporosis in those who have already lost teeth, either due to disuse or changing mechanical forces. Osteoporosis of the maxilla is accompanied by an increase in size of the paranasal sinuses, which in dentate persons can cause the maxillary antrum to extend below the roots of posterior teeth, possibly causing severe referred pain in these teeth, tooth mobility, and increased periodontal pocketing. The latter can in turn, lead to loss of crestal bone and tooth loss. If teeth are lost, many persons are now receiving dental implants, prostheses anchored by metal pillary in alveolar bone. Success of this process may also depend in part on the structural integrity of the bone.
Further it has been suggested that there is a relationship between periodontal disease and osteoporosis. However, it has not been shown that compounds which can treat osteoporosis may be effective in preventing tooth loss which is not associated with periodontal disease.